"What is hard for me is that you are suffering and, as your wife, I am unable to do anything," Eilika stated, her gaze searching his.

"You cannot do anything in this," Damian replied, his voice heavy but certain. "In fact, you have already done more than you ever should have. Do not feel low on my account. I do not want this burden to be shared by you. I chose Liliana, and whatever pain and betrayal she brought is mine alone to bear. Not yours."

Eilika hummed softly, realizing he was trying to shield her even while his own world was in pieces. "I won’t ask you to forget everything so soon," she said, reaching out to rest a hand on his arm. "But please, do find a way in your heart to move forward. Not for anyone else, but for yourself."

"You’re right," Damian said with a faint, weary smile. "I have spent five years trapped in the agony of a loss I never wanted. What hurts the most is knowing I can never get the answers to the questions she left behind."

He glanced at Eilika, his expression softening. "Let’s go back."

She grasped his hand without hesitation, and they began walking toward the private residence.

By the afternoon, Damian had cleared out the entire room he had once dedicated to Liliana’s memory. He insisted on doing the work himself, refusing to let Eilika help with the heavy portraits and barring the servants from entering, as the task felt deeply personal.

Eilika stood by the doorway, watching as only one piece remained. "I must say, Liliana was beautiful," she remarked suddenly, her eyes fixed on the final wedding portrait left in the room. "Did you fall in love with her because of how beautiful she was?"

"I told you, it happened because she seemed to understand me when I was all alone after my father’s demise," Damian replied, his voice strained.

"But her beauty—"

"I didn’t fall for her face first," he cut her off sharply. "Indeed, she was beautiful. But now, even thinking about it angers me. I cherished every single memory of her and was willing to do so until my last breath. If only she had been truthful with me, I would have helped her myself to be with August."

His emotions began to flare up again, his chest heaving as the words poured out. "When August told me that Liliana wanted the Dukedom and not me, I felt something inside me break completely. It was my trust in her. I was hoping until the very end that it was all a lie. But she played with the hearts of two men: August and myself. And neither of us truly knows which one of us she actually loved," Damian muttered.

His eyes moistened, and only then did he realize how much he had revealed. He turned his head away. "Sorry," he mumbled. "I got overwhelmed."

"It’s fine. You shouldn’t try to carry this portrait alone. We should call a few servants to assist," Eilika suggested, her voice gentle as she tried to pull him back from the ledge of his own anger.

"You’re right," he asserted, his voice hollow as he stared at the canvas.

"I’ll wait for you outside. Come out whenever you feel better," she said. Giving him the space he clearly needed, she stepped out into the open air.

The view was breathtaking. A vast lake stretched out before her, framed by a dense circle of ancient trees. "The location is beautiful," she whispered to herself. "But I can’t exactly ask him to bring me here again. It’s not my place to step into a zone that was never mine to begin with."

She walked toward the shore, the grass damp beneath her feet. Kneeling by the water’s edge, she gathered a handful of tiny pebbles.

She began to throw them one by one, watching as the ripples expanded across the surface, disrupting the stillness of the water just as the truth had disrupted their lives.

Damian watched her throwing the pebbles into the water and stopped beside her. He picked the last one from her palm, his fingers brushing it that made her jolt.

Damian watched her throw the pebbles into the water before coming to a stop beside her. He reached down and picked the final stone from her palm, his fingers brushing against hers in a way that made her jolt.

She tilted her head to look up at him as he threw the pebble. It soared across the surface, covering a much larger distance than her own before sinking.

"I have decided," Damian began, turning his head to meet her gaze. "I am going to destroy this residence."

"What?" she exclaimed with shock.

"It has no meaning left," Damian replied flatly. "There is no reason for it to stand."

Eilika fell silent, turning her eyes back toward the lake.

"This place started many rumors, too," Damian remarked, a chuckle escaping him as he looked at the building. "People claimed I kept a mistress here. I remember when you confronted me about that."

"That was a mistake," Eilika answered, a faint flush rising to her cheeks. "I didn’t know the truth about you at the time."

"Eilika, why didn’t you enter my life sooner? I think if we had met before, I would have been much happier," Damian stated, his voice softened by a sudden vulnerability.

She turned to him fully, searching his expression. "Aren’t you happy now? I thought you were ready to give us a real chance. But I do understand that the truth has devastated you."

"I am happy," Damian answered quickly, reaching out to steady her. "What I mean is that my past would have been different. As I have always said, you are a wonderful woman, one filled with empathy and serenity. I wouldn’t have had to wait so long to find that."

He turned to face her fully. "Today, I have left my past behind. I look forward to a life with you. I cannot say I will be a perfect husband, but I can assure you that you will never feel an ounce of sadness because of me ever again."

Eilika’s eyes widened at the confession. It was more than she had expected to hear so soon, and the timing caused a flicker of doubt to linger in her mind.

"If the truth about Liliana had never come out, would you have said the same?" she inquired, searching his eyes for any hint of uncertainty. "You were not ready to leave your past before today. Now, you want to because August told you a devastating truth."

"I would have said the same. Perhaps it would have been later, but I would have reached this point regardless," Damian answered firmly. "Do you know when everything truly changed? It was when you weren’t in the mansion and I was searching for you like a madman. I have never felt that kind of helplessness before."

Eilika recalled that night clearly; he had looked truly distraught.

"I don’t know how everything changed between us so quickly," Damian continued, his voice dropping to a softer tone. "But I realized then that I didn’t want you to leave my life. I am getting used to having you near. I couldn’t say these things that night because my only focus was bringing you home. You chose me over everything else, despite how I had treated you."

Eilika bit her lower lip, moved by his honesty. "We vowed to protect each other. Besides, Roman and Mother, they both need you. I told you that before."

"Yes, I remember. But they need you more than they need me, don’t you think? You are the driving force of joy for not only Roman but everyone in the house." Damian reached out and pinched her cheeks playfully, causing her to whimper.

"Ahh!" she cried out, rubbing her cheeks the moment he pulled his hands away.

Damian laughed, a genuine and rare sound, and immediately took a step back to escape her reach.

"Come here! I’m going to do the same to you!" Eilika declared, stepping toward him as he retreated further.

"No, you can’t do that to the Duke," he teased, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"And you dared to do this to the Duchess?" Her brows arched as she lunged at him, catching him off guard.

Damian lost his balance in the sudden scramble. His hands instinctively wrapped around her waist to steady her, but his momentum was already gone. They both tumbled to the ground.

"Ugh!" Damian groaned as his back hit the soft, grassy earth, with Eilika landing directly on top of him. She lifted her head, ready to move away when he brought his hand to the back of her head and pulled it down to his chest.

"Stay like that," Damian said.

Eilika gulped hard, and the redness on her cheeks deepened. For the first time, she could hear his heartbeats from this proximity which he never shared before.